Take Back What's Yours
by Hufflepuffstardis
Summary: Before Emma was born, Regina took back the kingdom, forcing Snow and Charming to run. Now Emma wants her thrown, and with the help of a group called the Bluesleeves she plans to regain it. No Curse Au.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! So now that we're on hiatus I thought that I should write something. I actually have a plan for this, unlike my other stories. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you may recognize from OUaT**

A carriage rolled through the kingdom, its plain exterior giving no hint to who or what could be inside. Its lone passenger smirked to herself as she rode through the streets of the small town on her way up to the palace. A crowd of people with glazed over eyes and black armor marched through the town.

Snow White and Prince Charming were ecstatic to say the least. They had just returned from visiting a seer, and Snow had been told that she was pregnant. The couple was dying to tell their friends, Red Riding Hood and the seven dwarves.

They walked through the halls, a spring in their steps. The happy grins never left their faces as they approached the war council chamber they knew the men and woman would be in.

They burst through the doors and surveyed the stoic, serious looks on the faces of their friends.

"Charming and I have some wonderful news!" Snow practically shouted to the confused looking people.

"What's up Snow?" Red asked her. The times had been tough recently due to the threat of Regina constantly hanging over everyone's head, so some good news was way overdue.

"I'm pregnant!" Snow beamed as she told her friends the news. A surge of pride rushed to her head.

"That's great," Grumpy was the first to congratulate her, and the other dwarves followed suit. The smiles on the young couple's faces grew wider with each minute they spent with their friends talking of their unborn child.

"Do you know if it's a boy or a girl yet?" Happy asked.

"No, not yet," Snow replied.

"What names were you thinking of?" Red asked.

"Emma for a girl, Liam for a boy," Charming answered.

The group sat in their carefree bubble for an hour, talking about trivial things such as baby names and nursery colors. The weight of the world leaving their shoulders, if only for a moment.

Doc was just getting to the punchline of one of his jokes when a guard burst through the door.

"Your majesties, it's the queen. She's here."

That was all anyone needed to hear before they rushed to the weapons chamber.

"David I want to fight. She's here because of me," Snow protested for what seemed like the thousandth time. She had been told not to fight, and instead would be escorted to a rendezvous point by Grumpy and two of her guards.

"I know you think it's bet, but what would happen to the baby if Regina got to you? I can't lose our child, Snow," Charming reasoned.

"I know, but I can't allow others to be hurt in my place. I can't just sit here and allow you and all of our friends to face Regina knowing that it's my fault she's here-"

"The baby," Charming cut her off with a tone of finality. He walked out of the room, Snow was sure he had left for the battle, but he soon returned with a large, glimmering sword, not unlike the one strapped to his own belt.

"I know that Grumpy's going to be taking you to a cabin where I'll meet you. You'll be in no danger, but at least with this you won't feel defenseless," Charming said, "Now go save our baby."

He was making to leave when Snow grabbed him on impulse and crashed her lips to his.

"Make sure you survive, then come find us," She said.

"I will always find you," David whispered into her hair as he pulled her into a hug.

Their emotional moment was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Your majesties, it's time."

David gave Snow one last fleeting look before walking out to meet the guard at the door. She sat there for a few minutes more, a hand on her stomach and her eye on the door. An attack could come at any minute, and even though they had removed all mirrors from the main wing of the castle, the threat of Regina finding her was too serious to pass up.

Lost in her reveries, Snow nearly screamed in fright when Grumpy burst through the door accompanied by her most trusted guards, Lionel and Penny.

"You ready to go sister?" The dwarf asked her.

"Yes, let's go."

Charming walked down the halls of his palace accompanied by Sleepy, Red, and a man he didn't know but Snow said was called "The Huntsman." The sounds of fighting grew louder as they approached the entrance hall of the elaborate castle. With each step their pace quickened, eager to reach Regina and stop her from taking the kingdom again.

As they stepped in, a soft, "Good god," escaped the lips of Sleepy.

Regina was standing in the middle of the long entrance hall. A pile of hearts arranged in a circle was at her feet, like a grisly barricade, taunting them with their come and get me nature, but if they so much as took another step closer, whoever those hearts belonged to would be dead. No one was willing to take that risk knowing it could very well be the heart of one of their loved ones.

Regina's army vastly outnumbered their own; her black armored soldiers like a sea of death plaguing the men and women who had given their lives to protect the kingdom.

"I'm going to take my wolf form," Red whispered into the ear of the king. The brunette leaped into the air and transformed, the light of the full moon shining onto the scene, giving the room an eerie glow.

Charming unsheathed his sword and ran at one of Regina's men. The Huntsman took out his knife, and Sleepy took an arrow out of his quiver and loaded it into his bow.

The little team, the palace guards, and the rest of the dwarves couldn't hold back Regina's army forever though, and soon the shadow of doubt that had plagued Charming' mind became an ocean, and he realized he must either fall back or risk never getting to meet his unborn child.

"We have to fall back, her army is too great," He shouted across the room to Red and The Huntsman. The man looked a bit surprised at his sudden proposal to withdrawal, but anyone would. This was the man that had saved them from Regina the first time around, and now he was proposing that they just give up. But the last time he didn't have a wife or baby to think about.

"Alright, get the dwarves and anyone that's left from our side, I'll round up a small group to hold her up," The Huntsman called over to the king.

"You know that means you probably won't make it back right?" Charming shouted back, growing worried for the friend of Snow's.

The other man just gave a solemn nod and ran back into the battle. Charming ran around, looking for anyone that wasn't either dead or cursed with an empty hole in their chests and cold, dead eyes.

He spotted six out of the seven dwarves, which relieved some of the tension the man had coiled up inside of him. At least the dwarves and Red were alright.  
"We've got to retreat, we can't win," He shouted over to them as he had to Red and the Huntsman earlier. Regina still stood in the middle of the entrance-hall-turned-battlefield, surrounded by her grotesque barricade of glowing hearts. The pile had grown as a few brave soldiers had tried to approach her, which both lessened their side and raised the numbers in hers.

The dwarves had begun to protest at his seemingly cowardly nature, but Doc soon spoke up in his voice of reason,

"I think that would be for the best," He said, though the words didn't sit right with anyone. Retreating now would mean surrendering the kingdom to Regina, the same kingdom they had just regained. After her little "I'll ruin your happiness" stunt at the royal wedding, they'd been expecting an attack, but they had never even imagined a situation where they would be forced to surrender.

Slowly and quietly, the group began to sneak towards the large double doors. Their formerly polished glean had become bloodstained and chipped; a pile of bodies stacked against them.

They were met by Red and a small group of men and women who had survived the battle. They were a few meters from the door when they caught Regina's attention.

"Running away little shepherd?" She mocked coldly, "You and I both know what happens to cowards."

"I'm doing what's best for Snow," He muttered, mostly to reassure himself that his decision was the right one.

"Honestly I'm disappointed that this was this easy. I don't think you should be allowed to go free."

At this statement she reached down and picked up the heart she had closest to her.

"Now I wonder who this belongs to. Let's find out which little dwarf isn't going back to widdle Snow," She laughed as she squeezed the heart just hard enough to invoke a scream from someone behind Sneazy. The crowd parted revealing Sleepy.

"I'm sorry men," He whispered. His face was pale and a small tear escaped his eye.

"I'm sorry," He whispered again.

"Well isn't that touching," Regina said sarcastically. She squeezed the heart again, just for good measure, being sure not to pop it just yet.

Sleepy screamed in agony. A white hot pain burst through his chest, like a thousand bee stings in one place.

"Regina stop this," Charming tried to reason with the woman.

"No, it's too fun," She said before screaming again. This time she went a bit too far and the heart turned to dust in her hands. What had been keeping Sleepy alive slipped through her fingers as the dwarf collapsed for the final time.

The other dwarves rushed to meet their fallen comrade, tears flowing freely from their eyes. Regina stood there and watched them, the fuzzy feeling she got from causing the ones who hurt her pain spreading throughout her like a wildfire.

It seemed like the group would never escape, they'd be forced to stay here in this never ending tango as Regina picked them off one heart at a time, not stopping until the last of them breathed their final breath. Or at least, that's how it seemed.

For at that moment The Huntsman charged onto the scene, followed by ten or fifteen soldiers who had agreed to let the others escape in their place.

Regina whipped around, stepping on the hearts closest to her in her hurry. The men by the door collapsed, giving the refugees a chance to escape. The dwarves picked up their fallen comrade, Red changed back from her wolf form, a hint of tears on her face, and Charming quickly and quietly led the procession of his friends and citizens out of his home and into the surrounding area, running towards the woods.

He took one last glance at his former palace before turning to the shelter of the trees.

A group of four people in woolen cloaks walked silently through the castle. A tall man led the procession followed by two women and a dwarf.

The sounds of a battle grew quieter as they walked deeper and deeper into the castle, through twisting and turning hallways, up and down seemingly endless staircases, and through many bedrooms. The group walked until they reached the servant's quarters, a large round room with many doors covering it.

"We'll just go through here," The man in front said to his companions in a heavy scottish accent, "And if I'm right it will lead us outside the palace gates. From there Penny and I are supposed to lead you to a nice little cabin where you and your charming Charming can reunite with one another before coming right back here. A bit redundant really, am I right Penny?"

The woman in question just rolled her eyes in reply, quite used to the man's rambling.

"Well could we stop talking and start doing before my feet fall asleep from disuse?" The dwarf spoke.

"Grumpy!" The other woman scolded

"Sorry princess."

The man in front opened the door revealing a long hallway lit only by torches.

"Well, ladies first," He gestured towards the hallway, and the taller of the two women walked in, followed by the other and the dwarf. The man followed, shutting the door and sealing the lock.

"This definitely the right way, right?" The woman who the dwarf had called princess asked.

"Yes. Absolutely. I'm 76 percent sure," The man said.

"Seventy Six?"

"Well you've gotta leave some margin for error."

"Would you just shut up Lionel!" Penny shouted, annoyed at her friend's antics.

"Sorry Pen."

The group continued down the long hallway, torch light casting long distorted shadows and the large hoods obstructing their vision.

"What was the point of the hoods, Snow?" Grumpy asked agitatedly.

"Disguises, Grumpy," The woman in question replied.

"We're almost out," Lionel said.

"Or so we hope," Penny muttered mostly to herself but loud enough for everyone to get the message.

"Be a bit more optimistic Pen," Lionel snarked back,"We can't be too self assured now can we?"

"There's the door!" Snow interrupted.

"Finally," Grumpy said.

Lionel reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring of keys.

"Which one is it, Penny?" He asked his fellow guardsman.

"Try this one," She said as she pointed to a little brown one.

He stuck it in the door and twisted, but to no avail.

"Maybe this one?" She asked uncertainly.

Lionel tried that key, then another, then another. He was halfway through his overstuffed keyring when a key finally worked.

"Ugh finally," Penny breathed out. Grumpy and Snow seemed to agree with this statement.

"So impatient," Lionel joked.

"Not the time," Grumpy groaned as he pushed past the other man and out of the door.

"Did we go the right way?" Snow asked him.

"Yeah, seems that way," He said.

"And you lot doubted me!" Lionel exclaimed as he reclaimed his place at the front of the group. The sounds of the battle were louder now that they were outside.

"Let's just go," Penny sighed, "Your majesty, you ready?"

"I suppose," Snow replied.

The group hastened towards the surrounding woods, the wind blowing strongly through the trees. A large gust blew the hoods right off their heads, revealing a raven-haired woman, a tall brunette man, a dwarf with a graying beard, and a dark skinned girl with bright pink hair tied up in a tight bun.

The party quickly put their hoods back on their heads, not risking being seen by any one from Regina's army.

"Where exactly is this cabin again, Penny?" Lionel asked his pink haired comrade.

"Just a mile north from here," She replied.

The group entered the line of trees and started on their journey. Snow held her hand to her stomach as she walked, the thought of her baby reassuring her.

"Got a stomach ache your majesty? We can stop and rest if you'd like," Lionel asked.

"Weren't you listening earlier stupid? She's pregnant!" Penny shouted to her friend, "Holding her stomach is a thing pregnant ladies do. My mom did it when she was having Johnny."

Snow blushed a bit at the mention of pregnancy, but beamed at the thought of her baby.

"You've got a brother?" Lionel asked Penny.

"I've got five of them," She replied. Lionel seemed to deflate at this statement.

"If we could focus, that'd be nice," Grumpy interrupted the pair.

"Sorry," They spoke in unison.

They trudged on in silence for what seemed like hours but was probably only a few minutes before Lionel spoke again.

"Peeeeennnnyyyyy are we there yet?" He whined at the woman.

"Almost you insufferable idiot."

They marched on for a few more minutes before they saw a light in the distance.

"That must be the cabin," Penny told the group, "Reggie, Martha, and Lisa are waiting for us there."

"Who?" Lionel asked.

"The cooks," Snow answered him.

"Oh, alright."

They walked up to the door of the large, wooden cabin. Grumpy waltzed to the front of the group and knocked on the door. The sound of footsteps could be heard approaching the door. The locks clicked and the handle turned. A middle aged woman opened the door with a sword in hand, but untensed when she saw who it was.

"Your majesty, welcome to the rendezvous point," She smiled kindly. Her gaze then fell on Lionel, "Oh, you're here."

"Nice to see you too..." He trailed off and looked to Penny for a name.

"Martha," She hissed.

"Martha!" he finished. The woman just rolled her eyes, as did Penny, at the man.

"Well you four should just make yourselves at home. Take off your cloaks and boots. I've got soup cooking for you while you wait for the others to come back," She said in a warm voice.

A plump red headed man walked into the room followed by a young mousy woman.

"Welcome," They said in unison to the four newcomers. The group removed their cloaks, relieved to be rid of the fabric, and pulled of their boots. The woman Snow assumed was Lisa picked up the garments and shoes and exited the room, "accidentally" bumping Lionel on her way.

Snow approached an armchair, and the other three sat on the couch next to it. Reggie and Martha followed Lisa out of the room.

The group sat there in an awkward silence until Martha came back, laden with a tray that had four bowls and cups.

"It's potato soup m'am," She said at Snow's questioning glance.

Snow just shrugged and accepted the bowl given to her. The mugs of what looked like tea were placed on the small table in front of the sofa.

They ate in silence, suspense building as they waited for news from the palace. Lionel eventually grew bored and tried to make small-talk.

"So Penny, you've got five brothers?" He asked.

"Yeah, four of them older and then little Johnny," She replied with a wistful smile.

"What are their names?" Snow asked.

"Gregory, Nigel, Ronald, and I've got a twin named Nolan."

"I've only got a sister, but she's kind of useless," Lionel responded, "Name's Nicole. Doesn't really do much and wears way too much pink."

"What's wrong with pink?" Penny asked.

"Nothing," He hastily said.

"That's what I thought," Penny replied.

Grumpy and Snow bemusedly watched the two bicker for two hours before they heard a commotion from outside.

"That must be Charming!" She exclaimed excitedly.

"Wait Snow, don't get too excited," Grumpy sighed, "If they had good news why would they bring the whole army?"

Snow couldn't hear him, she had already ran out the door, but Lionel and Penny both stiffened at this statement.

Snow ran towards Charming, oblivious to the forsaken looks on the faces of everyone else.

"Charming!" She exclaimed.

He smiled at her, but seemed otherwise occupied.

"You came, we can go home," She smiled. He stiffened at this.

"Snow, we can't. She won," He said sadly.

Snow then noticed the looks on the other's faces. She turned to the five dwarves. Wait, five? She noticed that Sleepy was missing. As was the Huntsman.

"Where's Sleepy? Where's the Huntsman?" She asked, dreading the answer she knew was coming.

"I'm sorry Snow, but we lost. We lost them and the kingdom," He whispered as he pulled her close to him. Snow allowed a tear to escape before turning to what was left of her army.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'm no longer your queen," She spoke in a choked voice. She sighed before turning around and walking back to the cabin.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I'm sorry about the somewhat massive time skip, but I just couldn't write a chapter on Emma's childhood that satisfied me. And on top of all that I'm unsure what Charming/James/David would have been called, so sorry if I alternate between the three. I'm still not completely happy with this, but after fifty thousand rewrites, here's chapter 2.**

* * *

15 years later

Snow sat in a small cabin waiting for her husband and now fourteen year old daughter to return from sparring in the nearby forest. Charming had wanted Emma to learn how to use a sword in case Regina ever found them again. They hadn't told her about their old life yet, wishing to spare her the burden of knowing that her and Charming had left their kingdom. While they spared her of the reason why, the fact that they were running from something or someone was strikingly obvious to the teenager.

Snow stared out of the house's one window as she saw the pair emerge from behind the trees. Both carried a sword and looked rather sweaty. She smiled and ran into the kitchen, where she had prepared rabbit stew.

"Mom we're back," Emma called into the house as they walked through the door.

"Good, I've had dinner ready for a while now," She called to them.

"What is it?" James asked her.

"Rabbit stew," She replied. She smirked a bit when she heard Emma groan.

"If you don't like it you don't have to eat," Snow sassed her right back.

"No, I'll eat," Emma said hastily. Trying to keep food from that girl was like trying to keep a bee from its honey, stoppable yet unpleasant.

The little family was sitting around their table when a knock sounded through the house. The place was rather isolated, but they still got tax collectors and jehovah's witnesses sometimes.

"I'll get it," Emma said as she jumped up from the table. She walked over to the door and unlocked it.

She opened it, expecting to see the usual middle-aged man, but instead she was met with the face of the queen, Regina.

Her eyes grew large and she yelled into the house, "Mom, Dad!"

Snow and Charming ran to the door. When they saw who it wa they immediately pulled their daughter behind them.

"Regina," Snow breathed, shocked and scared.

"Well isn't this cute," The other woman remarked, stepping into the house, "A bit quaint, if you ask me, but the location isn't my biggest surprise."

"How did you find us?" James shouted.

"Did you honestly think you could hide from me? I knew you were stupid, but honestly, you had to have known I'd find you."

"Mom, dad, what's going on?" Emma asked in a small voice.

"Emma you need to leave," Snow told her.

"You haven't told her about your past yet? Well allow me," Regina started.

"Leave her alone Regina," James shouted, "Emma just go."

"I'm not going anywhere until someone tells me what's happening," The teenager shouted.

"I'll tell her then," Regina said, "Your little parents here ruined my life, so I took their throne. The best part was I barely had to fight, they just gave it up."

"Emma don't listen to her," Snow shouted. Regina rolled her eyes and raised her arm. Snow was shot into the air at the gesture. Her hand grasped her throat as she stayed suspended in the air.

"What the shit!" Emma exclaimed. She backed up against a wall, horrified.

Charming, who had taken the opportunity of Regina talking to grab the swords, charged at the queen. The woman laughed and lifted Charming in the same manner she had Snow.

As she was distracted, Emma picked up the other sword. She ran at Regina from behind and managed to slash her arm.

"You little wench!" Regina growled at the girl, turning her attention to the the teenager and dropping the couple. Both adults hit the ground with a thud and began coughing. She raised her arms and Emma closed her eyes and braced herself for a magical death, only to be met with nothing. She opened her eyes and saw a force-field surrounding her and Regina's shocked yet livid face as she kept throwing spells Emma to no avail. Emma stared at the barrier in shock, as did everyone else in the room.

"The hell is this?" She shouted.

The queen looked just as confused as her, but didn't stop throwing curses at her. Her parents broke out of their shocked trances, and Charming picked his sword up again and ran at the woman. This time his blade lodged itself in her back, not deep enough to do any serious damage, but it left a rather large gash.

Regina gasped audibly. Rage clouded her vision as she bled from her wound.

"You'll pay for that, shepherd," She growled at the man. The woman lunged at Snow and Charming, grabbing ahold of them as she disappeared in a puff of purple smoke. Forcing them to accompany her to wherever she was going.

"No!" Emma screamed as her parents disappeared with the woman who she knew would most likely kill them. The barrier around her fell as she collapsed on the floor sobbing.

Emma couldn't tell how long she had sat in that one spot. It could have been hours, days, months. She just sat there staring at the place her parents had been.

Eventually though, she knew she would have to leave. Regina would return for her if she didn't. She stood up shakily, knees weak, arms spaghetti. Scorch marks covered the floor where Regina had been throwing spells at her.

She stumbled dazedly into her room and she grabbed her backpack from the small closet. Memories of all the other times she had packed up and left a home filled her, only this time it was different. This time she was alone.

She only put in two of her outfits before she walked out of her room and into the kitchen, she would need food if she was going to leave.

She wasn't feeling anything as she stuffed non-perishables into her canvas backpack. She grabbed a large bottle and filled it with the water they had left from dinner.

Her father's jacket was still on his chair. She put it on herself, the sleeves fell past her hands, but it still felt like home.

She knew she'd have to leave soon, so she took one last look around the cabin. Her eyes fell on the swords lying discarded on the floor. She picked up hers and stared at it. Regina's blood stained the blade. She'd have to see if her father had owned a sheath, and maybe she could get her mother's bow.

Emma knew these items would be in her parent's bedroom, so she braced herself upon entering.

I'll get them back. I'll get them back, she repeated to herself in her mind time and time again. The image of the purple smoke etched itself into her mind as she stepped through the door. Their room looked just like it always had, a mockery to them. Her mother's bow laid against the wall and a quiver of arrows was next to it. She slung both over her shoulder, but stopped short when she saw her mother's ring. She must've taken it off to cook and left it there, Emma thought to herself.

She held the ring between her fingers before taking the chain from around her neck. She unclasped the hook and strung the ring on the necklace. It joined the small locket her parents had given her for her sixth birthday.

A tear escaped and ran down her face. She sniffed and wiped it right off, not wanting to appear weak for her invisible audience. She took one last look around the room and stepped out. Not turning back and not stopping until she was well into the woods.

* * *

**Sorry it's kind of short, but the next chapter introduces the actual plot.**


	3. Chapter 3

Regina's Palace

A vortex of smoke filled the dank, dark chamber. A single torch cast large, distorted shadows across the walls and the grated flooring revealed a rushing waterway. Regina with Snow and Charming in tow materialized in the smoke, for the first time in years, Snow and Charming looked utterly defeated while the queen smirked triumphantly. The smirking woman waved her hand over a gash in her back, effectively healing it, then snapped her fingers loudly, the sound echoing across the walls and bouncing off the high ceilings. Four men in black armor entered through a thick door, leaving it open due to the handle only residing on the outside. It was the perfect prison.

"Guards, as you can see I've brought home some new pets," Regina announced in a commanding voice to her men.

"Please take us back, Regina," Snow begged softly, her voice wavering slightly as a single tear slipped down her face.

The queen just laughed, "Take you back?" She asked sardonically, "After all you've done to me how do you expect me to even consider doing that?"

"Regina, please," Charming pleaded, "Emma's there, we can't leave her." His voice broke when he said his daughter's name. He prayed that she had left the house before Regina sent someone to get her.

"Don't worry about your precious daughter, shepherd, she'll be joining you two shortly, although I make no promises about the condition she'll be in." The couple paled at this statement.

"Your majesty, would you like us to use the chains on these two?" One of the guards behind Regina asked a little too eagerly.

"If you would wait until I am done!" The queen shouted at the armored man.

"Sorry your majesty," The man flinched.

"Take in your surroundings you two, because they'll be all you'll see for the rest of your life," Regina cackled turning her attention back the former monarchs, "And don't bother trying the floor, the drop's a lot further than it looks."

The woman then turned on her heel and waltzed out of the room, an evil smile residing on her face. Two of her guards followed her, but the one who liked chains stayed with another. The man removed his helmet and gave the pair a nasty grin, revealing a row of rotted teeth. He stepped over to the back wall where he found a nook in the wall. He pulled a key from his pocket and slipped it in, twisting his wrist and unlocking something.

Snow gasped as a large glass cabinet slid out of the wall. Its contents appeared to be mainly weapons of some sort. The tooth decaying man laughed a bit to himself as he grabbed two sets of shackles that seemed as if they glowing with dark magic. The disgusting man turned to them with a sadistic gleam in his eyes.

"Now then your majesties, let's have some fun!"

Emma walked through the seemingly endless forest. Her feet ached after having walked for nearly three days, stopping only to sleep for thirty minutes at a time every ten hours or so. Her hours were spent looking over her shoulder and flinching at every wig snapping or branch rustling. Occasionally a tear would slip out of her eye for her parents, but she always stopped them before she could let herself loose. She would get them back, and then she would get the throne back from Regina.

She nearly laughed when she thought of herself as a princess. She who had spent her life constantly moving from cabin to cabin in an effort to escape the queen should've been living in a palace. She who barely wore anything outside of breeches and tunics should've had gowns and tiaras. It was utterly surreal to think about.

Lost in her reverie, she didn't notice the other female come up behind her. She continued walking, oblivious to the girl who couldn't have been any older than her following her quietly, sword drawn and posture stiff.

Emma continued on until she heard a twig snap. She quickly pivoted around and nearly screamed when she came face to face with a young girl. The other had no qualms towards shouting in surprise as Emma drew her sword from its place on her belt.

The two teenagers stared at each other, swords pointed at the other's heart. Emma reluctantly lowered her sword and the other girl followed. They eyed each other with distaste before the other asked her,

"Who are you?"

Emma didn't know how to answer. She obviously couldn't give her full name to anyone, but she rather enjoyed being an Emma. She panicked and said,

"Emma Swan."

"Grace March," The dirty blonde girl replied.

"Well, Grace March, why are you here?" Emma asked Grace distrustfully.

"I believe I could ask you the same question, Emma Swan," Grace retorted.

"I'm looking for something," Emma settled on after running through all the possible answers in her head.

"I suppose you could say I'm doing the same," Grace reluctantly said. Both girls eyed each other before they began walking, this time together and not alone, an unspoken pact having been made between the two.

They continued on in silence before Grace finally spoke up.

"So, Emma, what are you looking for?"

"It's not a what, it's more of a who," The taller girl replied. Grace's brown eyes met her green in surprise before replying,

"Same."

"Guess we're in the same boat then. How old are you?" Emma asked.

"Fourteen, you?"

"Same."

They continued on in an awkward silence, neither girl knowing how to carry the conversation onwards.

"So, Grace," Emma started, opting to get to know her unofficial travel companion, "You got any family back where you're from, which is?" She trailed off, not knowing anything aside from the girl's a/s/l.

"That's sort of what I'm looking for," Grace supplied, "And I'm from around here somewhere, sort of lost track. How about you, then?"

"I'm looking for my parents at the moment," Emma replied, "And I'm not really from anywhere."

"Ah, I feel you," Grace said awkwardly. The sun had hence set, revealing the light of a full moon. A wolf's howl echoed throughout the forest. Both girls jumped at the noise, not realising the time of the month it was.

"Shit!" Emma whispered, "It's wolf's time, isn't it."

Grace paled before nodding. The wolf howled again, sounding closer this time. Emma stepped a bit closer to the other girl.

They continued on, looking over their shoulders every few moments, expecting to come face to face with a snarling wolf. The howl sounded again, sounding as though it were just through the trees.

The two girls froze, hearing a rustle of leaves ahead of them. They paled even more than they already had and wrapped their arms around each other. They hid their faces and huddled together. A giant wolf leaped out at them, fur bristling and blood dripping from its mouth.

The two girls screamed at the arrival of the animal. They braced themselves for the worst, eyes clamped shut to avoid looking again at what would surely be their demise.

"I'm too young for this bull," Grace whispered. They stood there for what seemed like hours, but nothing happened. Emma felt a sense of déjà vu and cracked one of her eyes open a little bit, looking for a field of energy. Instead of a confused wolf though, Emma's eyes fell upon a beautiful woman in a red cloak. Grace looked up as well and started in surprise.

"What? But there was-" Emma started.

"And teeth-" Grace mumbled. Both girls stared with wide eyes at the trail of blood leaving the strange woman's mouth.

"Who are you?" Emma finally settled on after running through all the possible scenarios of where the giant wolf could have gone, "And where's the wolf. There was a giant wolf here a minute ago!"

"I'm Red, and I should be the one asking who you are. You're both intruders here," The woman, Red, said.

"Intruders! Like hell we're intruders! This is the middle of the fucking woods, no one else fucking lives here!" Grace shouted, her former easy-going attitude collapsing as she began to come out of the shock the wolf had put her in.

"Watch your tongue missy, I won't hesitate to get the wolf back here," The woman threatened causing Grace to promptly shut her mouth.

"Who's land is this then?" Emma asked.

"I'm not qualified to tell you this, now go home kiddos," Red said in a patronizing tone. Grace bristled at this, the woman's tone pissing her off.

"Don't you think we would if we could! Now get off your self entitled, uppercased, high horse and tell me who's land I'm on," She snapped.

"What do you mean you can't go home?" The woman asked them.

"You don't get to ask questions. Not until you tell us where the hell we are," Emma jumped back in. She kept a hand on her friend's shoulder, stopping her from charging at the strange woman.

"Alright fine, this land belongs to the Bluesleeves, now leave."

"The what?" The two girls asked in unison.

"The Bluesleeves," Red pulled up the sleeve of her dress, revealing armband decorating her slender wrist, "Don't tell me you haven't heard of us." The woman sounded scandalized.

"Sorry I've been living in the middle of the woods my whole life," Grace mumbled. Emma was a bit more practical in her response.

"What exactly are the Bluesleeves?"

"We're the resistance group against Regina. You know, the one that's always being hunted by her army," Red tried to explain.

"You must not be very good if I've never heard of you," Grace smirked.

"You must not be very good if you haven't heard of us," The woman retorted with a matching smirk. The dirty-blonde teenager just stuck her tongue out in reply.

"So you're fighting Regina? And we're on your land?" Emma tried to clear the whole situation up.

"Yes!" Red shouted triumphantly. Just as the two girls were getting ready to reply, the sound of approaching feet met their ears. The two blondes paled, expecting the wolf to return. Red just turned around and faced the tree line.

She shouted, "August, I told you I could handle it!" A tall, scruffy man in a leather jacket stepped into the clearing, his eyes fell upon the two younger girls.

"If handling it means revealing our location to children, then yeah, you're handling it," The newcomer, August replied sarcastically.

"I'm not a child!" Emma shouted indignantly, annoyed at being interrupted.

"You've told them everything, haven't you," The main sighed, ignoring the outburst.

"Well not, everything..." Red trailed off.

"We can't just let them leave now," August groaned.

"Yes we can!" Grace put in. Like Emma, she was ignored.

"Well what do you propose we do, puppet boy? Recruit them?" Red asked.

"That's the only option right now."

"Do we have a say?" Emma asked. She was yet again ignored.

The adults continued in a back and forth argument for what seemed like forever. The two girls sat on the ground and began to carve tic-tac-toe boards into the earth. After Emma had won four games and Grace had won twelve the adults finally stopped arguing.

"Stand up kiddos," Red said, "I think you're gonna be joining us for a while."

"Does this count as kidnapping?" Grace asked her jokingly. Both girls had actually warmed to the idea of joining the resistance. They both planned to use it for their own personal agenda of retrieving their parents, though neither had given clue to the true nature of their past.

"Not if you come willingly," August threatened.

"You wanted us to leave like, ten minutes ago, Red. What changed your mind?" Emma asked cheekily.

"Piss off, we still have the option of keeping you in our cells."

"Shutting up now," Emma muttered as she mimed locking her mouth and tossing a key over her shoulder. Grace chuckled at her and Emma punched her on the arm.

The quartet began to walk deeper into the woods, deeper towards the new chapter of their lives.

* * *

**So there's the chapter. All criticism is welcome!**


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